Veera and her family live in Russia on what feels like the edge of the world on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Veera spends her time devouring fantasy books, playing fetch with her dog, and longing for a friend she can share her treasures with that she keeps hidden underneath the alder bush. Lucas and his family live on the coast of Chile, which also feels like the edge of the world. Lucas spends his days looking for fossils, playing solo games of soccer, and wishing for a friend to read with him on his favorite tree branch. Written and illustrated by acclaimed author-illustrator Anna Desnitskaya, On the Edge of the World is a playful and perceptive book that illuminates the mirroring lives of two separate children in two separate places, yet share strikingly similar settings and interests.
Russia
Yossel’s Journey
Yossel, along with his family, flees anti-Jewish Russian pogroms in the late nineteenth century and settles in the American Southwest where he forges a friendship with Thomas, a Native American Navajo boy.
Words On Fire
In 1893 twelve-year-old Audra lives on a farm in Lithuania, and tries to avoid the Cossack soldiers who enforce the Russian decrees that ban Lithuanian books, religion, culture, and even the language; but when the soldiers invade the farm Audra is the only one who escapes and, unsure of what has happened to her parents, she embarks on a dangerous journey, carrying the smuggled Lithuanian books that fuel the growing resistance movement, unsure of who to trust, but risking her life and freedom for her country.
Anna & Solomon
In 1897 a young man named Solomon fell in love with and married a beautiful young woman named Anna. They lived in Russia, which was dangerous at that time for a Jewish family, so Solomon moved to the United States, where he worked and saved until he had enough money to send Anna a ticket for the voyage across the ocean. But when Solomon went to meet Anna’s ship, Anna’s younger brother was waiting for him. Solomon took in her brother and worried and saved until he could send the money for Anna’s passage again—but this time, Anna’s older brother was waiting. When Solomon sent the money a third time and Anna’s mother arrived, Solomon wondered if he would ever see his dear wife again. Anna & Solomon is based on the true story of the author’s grandparents’ immigration.
Black Ice
In 1868, teenaged Sherlock Holmes faces danger in a train station for the dead, a museum of curiousities, and downtown Moscow as he helps his brother, Mycroft, who has been framed for murder.
The Sound Of The Dragon’s Feet
The time spent with her “revolutionary” tutor opens 10-year-old Sasha’s eyes to more of life in turn-of-the-century Russia than her somewhat sheltered existence had previously allowed her to experience.